Management of queries in electronic mail messages

ABSTRACT

Presented herein are systems and methods for handling email messages. An application may identify, via the user interface, one or more properties defining a distribution list to assign a user of the client device. The application may transmit, to the server, the one or more properties to assign the user of the client device to the distribution list, with which at least one of a plurality of email messages to is selected for sending to the client device. The application may receive, from the server, an identification of a subset of email messages selected from the plurality of email messages based on an assignment of the user of the client device to the distribution list and content in the subset of email messages. The application may present, in the user interface, a message list of the subset of email messages.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application generally relates to communications. In particular, thepresent application relates to managing and handling electronic mailmessages.

BACKGROUND

A mail agent running on a computing device may be used by users to sendand receive electronic mail messages with one another. A mail server mayfacilitate the transfer of electronic mail messages from one user toanother user. When an electronic mail message identifies a particularuser as a recipient, the mail server may forward the electronic mailmessage to the recipient user. Upon receipt, the electronic mailmessages may be displayed in an inbox user interface of the mail agent.The inbox user interface can organize the electronic mail messages assuch messages received. As more and more electronic mail messages areamassed by the recipient, the recipient's inbox may become cluttered anddisorderly, resulting in a degradation in the quality of human computerinteractions (HCI) between the user and the user interface of the mailagent. Without any means to organize the received messages, certainelectronic mail messages may be missed by the user.

SUMMARY

Presented herein are systems and methods for managing and handlingelectronic mail messages. A sender may use a mail agent or applicationrunning on a client device to compose and send an electronic mailmessage to another user. The electronic mail message may include headers(e.g., identifying a recipient, sender, and subject), a body message,and one or more tags, among others. A mail server interfacing with themail agent on the client device can receive and direct the electronicmail message using the recipient identified in the header of theelectronic mail message. The recipient client device may receive theelectronic mail message from the sender for display via a user interfacefor the recipient user. The user interface of the mail agent may includean inbox to display a list of received electronic mail messages and amessage window to show

Although the recipient user may use the mail agent to access and readreceived electronic mail messages, utility of the user interface of themail agent may degrade as more and more electronic mail messagesaccumulate in the user's inbox. This is because the shear amount ofelectronic mail messages may become cluttered and disorderly, especiallywithout additional organization of such messages. Such a cluttered inboxmay lead to the user becoming frustrated with the mail agent, resultingin the degradation of the quality of human-computer interactions (HCI)between the user and the user interface of the agent. The disarrangementof the user interface of the mail agent may also lead to higherconsumption of computing resources and more time, because the user mayhave to submit multiple search requests to find desired messages.

One attempt to addressing some of these problems may be to set up rulesto classify emails based on header or body content of receivedelectronic mail messages. This approach, however, may be cumbersome andtedious, because the user may have to manually set up such rules,defining individual keywords, senders, or recipients. Moreover, manuallysetting up rules may also provide limited and inflexible controls overthe organization of the received electronic mail messages. Thesecontrols may result in over-inclusion of unwanted electronic mailmessages and under-inclusion of desired electronic mail messages, stillleaving much to be desired in the quality of HCI between the user andthe mail agent.

To account for these and other technical problems, distribution listsassigned to various users may be used to identify electronic mailmessages to bring to the recipient's attention. A mail handlingapplication (also referred herein as a mail user agent) on a clientdevice may provide a dialog box to select parameters defining whichdistribution list the user is to be assigned. The parameters mayinclude, for example, a request type, a group identifier, and otherinformation about the user. Upon selection, the mail handlingapplication may send the parameters to the mail server. The mail servermay receive the parameters defining the distribution list from theclient device. Using the parameters, the mail server may identify thedistribution list to which to assign the user.

With the assignment, whenever an electronic mail message is received,the mail server may check the distribution list for the recipient user.Using the distribution list, the mail server may parse the contents(e.g., header, body message, and tags) of the electronic mail message todetermine whether the electronic mail message is to be assigned to theuser. If the contents of the message is determined to correspond to thedistribution list, the mail server may identify the electronic mailmessage as to be assigned. The mail server may send the message with anidentification that the message is assigned to the user. For instance,when the content of the message corresponds to a request type for thedistribution list, the mail server may determine that the message is tobe brought to the attention of the user. On the other hand, if thecontents of the message is determined to not correspond to thedistribution list, the mail server may identify the electronic mailmessage as to be not assigned to the user. The mail server may forwardthe electronic mail message to the user, without any identification.Upon receipt, the mail handling application may present the electronicmail message in an inbox dedicated for messages selected using thedistribution list to bring such messages to the user's attention.

In addition, the mail handling application in conjunction with the mailserver may provide other various functionalities for administering thepresentation of the electronic mail messages on the user interface. Forexample, from the list of electronic mail messages, the user of theapplication may identify a message to re-assign, and the application maysend a request to change assignment to another user. The application (orthe server) may also determine whether an electronic mail message thathas been assigned to the user has been replied to within a set timewindow. If the set time window has passed without any replies by theuser, the application may provide an escalation indication that themessage has not been responded to. Furthermore, the application may alsosend an identification of the message to another user (e.g., a managerof the initial employee assigned to handling the email).

Upon request to convert electronic mail messages into online chatconversation, the application (or the server) may generate an onlinechat conversation by extracting main content in body message andremoving auxiliary content (e.g., signatures, disclaimers, etc.) from athread of messages. Conversely, upon receiving a request to convert anonline chat conversation to an electronic mail thread, the applicationmay interface with a chat application to retrieve the chat conversationthread. With the identification, the application may generate theelectronic mail thread by adding electronic mail message formatting(e.g., headers, subject, and signature) to each of the chatconversations. Furthermore, the application may administer a user'scalendar. Whenever a request to cancel an event is received, theapplication may identify another calendar event for the time slot as thecanceled event, and may present the identified calendar event as arecommendation to the user. The application may also provideautomatically generated responses for a query in an electronic mailmessage upon request.

In this manner, the mail handling application in combination with themail server may improve the quality human-computer interaction (HCI)between the user and the electronic mail messages by providing anability to manage arrangement of such messages. For example, use of thedistribution list to select which electronic mail message to bring tothe user's attention may reduce the cluttering and disorderliness of aninbox of the application, permitting the user to access relevantreceived messages and ability to quickly reply to such messages. Theother capabilities of the user interface may further organize theelectronic mail messages in the user interface of the mail handlingapplication to improve the quality of HCI between the user and theapplication. These may also further reduce consumption of computingresources, from eliminating additional interactions to achieve similarresults.

Aspects of present disclosure are directed to systems, methods, andnon-transitory computer readable media for handling electronic mailmessages in networked environments. The system may include a clientdevice having one or more processors coupled with memory incommunication with a server. The system may an application executable onthe client device. The application may have a user interface forhandling electronic mail messages. The application may identify, via theuser interface, one or more properties defining a distribution list toassign a user of the client device. The application may transmit, to theserver, the one or more properties to assign the user of the clientdevice to the distribution list, with which at least one of a pluralityof electronic mail messages to is selected for sending to the clientdevice. The application may receive, from the server, an identificationof a subset of electronic mail messages selected from the plurality ofelectronic mail messages based on an assignment of the user of theclient device to the distribution list and content in the subset ofelectronic mail messages. The application may present, in the userinterface, a message list of the subset of electronic mail messages.

In one embodiment, the application may receive, via the user interface,a request to present an electronic mail thread corresponding to a secondsubset of electronic mail messages, as a chat conversation thread. Theapplication may identify, from each of the second subset of electronicmail messages, main content and auxiliary content, responsive to therequest to present. The application may generate the chat conversationthread including the main content identified from each of the secondsubset of electronic mail messages, while excluding the auxiliarycontent. The application may present, in a message panel of the userinterface, at least a portion of the chat conversation thread.

In another embodiment, the application may receive, via the userinterface, a request to add a chat conversation thread from a secondapplication as one of the subset of messages in the message list. Theapplication may generate an electronic mail thread to include a secondsubset of messages corresponding to a plurality of conversations of thechat conversation thread. The application may present, via the messagelist, an identification of the electronic mail thread among a pluralityof threads.

In yet another embodiment, the application may identify, from the subsetof electronic mail messages, an electronic mail message for no responseis sent within a defined time window after receipt. The application mayprovide, via the user interface, an indicator identifying the electronicmail message as having no response within the defined time window.

In yet another embodiment, the application may receive, via the userinterface, a request to change assignment of an electronic mail messageof the subset of electronic mail messages to another user. Theapplication may transmit, to the server, an indication that theelectronic mail message is to be assigned to the second distributionlist, responsive to the request to change assignment of the electronicmail message. The application may remove the electronic mail messageamong the subset of electronic mail messages from presentation in themessage list.

In yet another embodiment, the application may receive, via the userinterface, a request to cancel a first calendar event corresponding toone of the subset of electronic mail messages. The application mayidentify, responsive to the request to cancel, a second calendar eventfor a time slot at least partially concurrent with the first calendarevent. The application may present, via the user interface, anidentification of the second calendar event.

In yet another embodiment, the application may provide, for at least onemessage of the subset of electronic mail messages, a response based onat least a portion of the at least one message. In yet anotherembodiment, the application may present, in a dashboard of the userinterface, a statistic indicator associated with provision of theplurality of electronic mail messages to the client device in accordancewith the distribution list.

In yet another embodiment, the application may provide, via anattachment window at least partially concurrently with the message listof the user interface, a plurality of attachments available to be addedto at least one of the subset of messages. In yet another embodiment,the client device may include a mobile communication device incommunication with the server on a cloud computing network. The userinterface may have a size corresponding to a display of the mobilecommunication device.

Aspects of present disclosure are directed to systems, methods, andnon-transitory computer readable media for managing electronic mailmessages in networked environments. The system may include at least oneserver having one or more processors coupled with memory incommunication with a plurality of client devices. The at least oneserver may receive one or more properties defining a distribution listto assign a user associated with a client device of the plurality ofclient devices. The at least one server may identify, from a pluralityof distribution lists, the distribution list to which to assign the userbased on the one or more properties. The at least one server may select,from a plurality of electronic mail messages to be sent to the clientdevice, a subset of electronic mail messages based on assignment of theuser to the distribution list and content in the subset of electronicmail messages. The at least one server may transmit, to the clientdevice, an identification of the subset of electronic mail messages forpresentation in a message list of a user interface.

In one embodiment, the at least one server may receive, from the clientdevice, a request to present an electronic mail thread corresponding toa second subset of electronic mail messages, as a chat conversationthread. The at least one server may identify, from each of the secondsubset of electronic mail messages, main content and auxiliary content,responsive to the request to present. The at least one server maygenerate the chat conversation thread including the main contentidentified from each of the second subset of electronic mail messages,while excluding the auxiliary content. The at least one server may send,to the client device, the chat conversation thread for presentation in amessage panel of the user interface.

In another embodiment, the at least one server may receive, from theclient device, a request to add a chat conversation thread from a secondapplication as one of the subset of messages in the message list. The atleast one server may generate an electronic mail thread to include asecond subset of messages corresponding to a plurality of conversationsof the chat conversation thread. The at least one server may send, tothe client device, an identification of the electronic mail thread amonga plurality of threads for presentation in the message list.

In yet another embodiment, the at least one server may identify, fromthe subset of electronic mail messages, an electronic mail message forno response is sent within a defined time window after receipt. The atleast one server may send, to the client device, an indicatoridentifying the electronic mail message as having no response within thedefined time window via the user interface.

In yet another embodiment, the at least one server may receive, from theclient device, a request to change assignment of an electronic mailmessage of the subset of electronic mail messages to another user. Theat least one server may identify, from a plurality of users, a seconduser to which to assign the electronic mail message based on the requestto change. The at least one server may send, to a second client deviceassociated with the second user, an identification of the electronicmail message.

In yet another embodiment, the at least one server may receive, from theclient device, a request to cancel a first calendar event correspondingto one of the subset of electronic mail messages. The at least oneserver may identify, responsive to the request to cancel, a secondcalendar event for a time slot at least partially concurrent with thefirst calendar event for the user. The at least one server may send, tothe client device, an identification of the second calendar event forthe user.

In yet another embodiment, the at least one server may select, from aplurality of distribution lists, the distribution list for the userbased on the one or more properties received from the client device. Inyet another embodiment, the at least one server may generate, for atleast one message of the subset of electronic mail messages, a responsebased on at least a portion of the at least one message. In yet anotherembodiment, the at least one server may comprise at least one of a mailexchange server or a dedicated server for interfacing with anapplication for handling messages executing on the client device. In yetanother embodiment, the at least one server may be distributed in acloud computing network in communication with the plurality of clientdevices

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the embodiments describedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings constitute a part of this specification,illustrate an embodiment, and together with the specification, explainthe subject matter of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an example system for managing andhandling electronic mail messages in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 2 depicts a flow diagram of an example method of managing andhandling electronic mail messages in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts a screenshot of a dashboard of mailbox statisticsdisplayed via an interface in accordance with an embodiment;

FIGS. 4A and 4B each depict a screenshot of a dashboard of mailboxstatistics displayed via an interface for a mobile device, in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 5 depicts a screenshot of a window of various statistics displayedvia an interface for a mobile device, in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 6 depicts a screenshot of a dialogue box for selecting parametersto define a distribution list to which to assign a user in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 7 depicts a screenshot of an interface of an application includinga message list and a message panel in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 8 depicts a screenshot of an interface of an application for amobile device including a message list in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 9 depicts a screenshot of an interface of an application for amobile device including a message list with indicators regardingapproval in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 10 depicts a screenshot of an interface of an application for amobile device including a message list with indicators for potentialescalations in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 11 depicts a screenshot of an interface of an application for amobile device including a message with various tags in accordance withan illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 12 depicts a screenshot of a dialogue box for an inquiry resolutionin accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 13 depicts a screenshot of an interface of an application includinga message list and a message panel with a side panel including an auditof events in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 14 depicts a screenshot of an interface of an application includinga message list and a message panel with a side panel including notes inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 15 depicts a screenshot an interface of an application including amessage list and a message panel with an electronic mail threadconverted to a chat conversation thread, in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 16A depicts a screenshot of a selected electronic mail thread withmultiple messages in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 16B depicts a screenshot of a chat conversation thread convertedfrom the electronic mail thread in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 17 depicts a screenshot of a dialogue box for suggested automatedresponses in accordance with an illustrative embodiment; and

FIG. 18 depicts a screenshot of an automated reply included in aresponse electronic mail message in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in thedrawings, and specific language will be used here to describe the same.It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope ofthe disclosure is thereby intended. Alterations and furthermodifications of the features illustrated here, and additionalapplications of the principles as illustrated here, which would occur toa person skilled in the relevant art and having possession of thisdisclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the disclosure.

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for managingand handling electronic mail messages. Users of an electronic mailmessage service may be assigned to one or more distribution lists basedon parameters configured by the users. The distribution lists mayinclude one or more users (recipients), and the message may be intendedfor one or more of the users. The parameters may include, for example, arequest type, a group identifier, and other information about the user.Once assigned, the server may determine that an electronic mail messagedirected at the user is to be brought to the user's attention based onthe contents of the message as well as the distribution list to whichthe user belongs. From the determination, the server may provide anidentification that the electronic mail message is assigned to the userto a client device associated with the user. Upon receipt, a mailmanagement application on the client device may include the identifiedmessage in a list of messages (e.g., inbox) assigned to the user. Inthis manner, the cluttering and disorderliness of the message list canbe reduced, thereby improving human-computer interaction (HCI) betweenthe user and the application and freeing up consumption of computingresources that would have been spent in additional interactions toaccess messages.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a system 100 for binding webcomponents to protect accessing of resources. The system 100 may includeat least one mail management server 105 and one or more clients 110A-N(hereinafter generally referred to as clients 110) communicativelycoupled via at least one cloud network 115. The mail management server105 may include at least one distribution list manager 120, at least oneassignment manager 125, at least one message converter 130, at least oneattachment manager 135, at least one calendar manager 140, at least oneresponse generator 145, at least one metric tracker 150, among others.At least one client 110 may include at least one message handlingapplication 155 to provide at least one user interface 160. Embodimentsmay comprise additional or alternative components or omit certaincomponents from those of FIG. 1 , and still fall within the scope ofthis disclosure.

Various hardware and software components of one or more public orprivate networks (e.g., over the cloud network 115) may interconnect thevarious components of the system 100. Non-limiting examples of suchnetworks may include Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless Local AreaNetwork (WLAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network(WAN), and the Internet. The communication over the network may beperformed in accordance with various communication protocols, such asTransmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), UserDatagram Protocol (UDP), and IEEE communication protocols, among others.

The cloud computing network 115 may include a cloud computingenvironment, with one or more nodes (e.g., one or more servers) can bedistributed over multiple sites (e.g., data centers). The cloudcomputing network 115 may be used to implement or execute the mailmanagement server 105 and its components, such as the distribution listmanager 120, the assignment manager 125, the message converter 130, theattachment manager 135, the calendar manager 140, at least one responsegenerator 145, the metric tracker 150, among others. For instance, thedistribution list manager 120 and the assignment manager 125 may beexecuted on servers at one site, while the message converter 130, theattachment manager 135, the calendar manager 140, at least one responsegenerator 145, the metric tracker 150 may be run out of other sites. Thecloud computing network 115 may be setup in accordance with any numberof service models, such as an infrastructure as a service (IaaS), aplatform as a service (PaaS), or a software as a service (SaaS), amongothers.

The client 110 may be any computing device comprising one or moreprocessors coupled with memory and software, and capable of performingthe various processes and tasks described herein. The client 110 may be,for example, a desktop, a thin client, a laptop, a tablet, and a mobilephone, among others. The client 110 may be in communication with themail management server 105, via the cloud network 115. Communicationsfrom the client 110 may be redirected via the network 115 from onecomponent to another. The client 110 may run the message handlingapplication 155 to handle the selection and presentation of the messageson the display via the user interface 160. The user interface 160 may besized to fit the display form of the client 110. In some embodiments,when the client 110 is a mobile communication device (e.g., a smartphoneor tablet), the user interface 160 may have a size corresponding to ormatching size of the display of the client 110.

The message handling application 155 may be a web application to accessfunctionalities provided by the mail management server 105. In someembodiments, the message handling application 155 may be an instance ofan application for which the resources are hosted on the mail managementserver 105 of the cloud network 115. For instance, the message handlingapplication 155 may be a part of a software as a service (SaaS) platformmanaged through the mail management server 105 and its components on thecloud network 115. With this arrangement, the functionalities of themessage handling application 155 may be shared with the mail managementserver 105. The user interface 160 may have a message list (alsoreferred herein as an electronic mailbox) to present a set of messagesor threads received by the message handling application 155, a messagepanel to display the content of messages, and other user interfaceelements to manage the presentation of the messages, among others. Themessage handling application 155 may interface with the cloud computingnetwork 115 to access the mail management server 105.

The mail management server 105 may be any computing device comprisingone or more processors coupled with memory and software, and capable ofperforming the various processes and tasks described herein. In someembodiments, the mail management server 105 may include a mail exchangeserver facilitating the delivery of electronic mail messages to the setof clients 110. In some embodiments, the mail management server 105 mayinclude one or more servers distributed in the cloud network 115. Theservers may be dedicated for interfacing with instances of the mailhandling applications 155 on the clients 110. For instance, the serverson the cloud network 115 may host and provide resources for webapplications corresponding to the mail handling applications 155accessed via the client 110. The mail management server 105 may be incommunication with the client 110, via the network 115. Although shownas a single mail management server 105, the mail management server 105may include any number of computing devices. The mail management server105 may host, maintain, or otherwise carry various functions for mailexchange among the client 110.

Within the mail management server 105, the distribution list manager 120may be or may include computer-readable machine code executable by themail management server 105 to assign users to a distribution listcomposed of a subset of users. The assignment handler 125 may be, or mayinclude, computer-readable machine code executable by the mailmanagement server 105 to receive electronic messages and transmit themto a subset of users within a distribution list based on certaincriteria. The message converter 130 may be, or may include,computer-readable machine code executable by the mail management server105 to visually convert electronic mail conversation threads into a chatinterface by removing auxiliary content from the electronic mail. Themessage converter 130 may also be, or include, computer-readable machinecode executable by the mail management server 105 to integrate variouschat platforms into a user's electronic mailbox as an electronic mailmessage. The attachment manager 135 may be, or may include,computer-readable machine code executable by the mail management server105 to compile attachments within an electronic mail conversation threadand present the attachments to a user in a consolidated location.

In addition, the calendar manager 140 may be, or may include,computer-readable machine code executable by the mail management server105 to determine a priority of calendar events and subsequently acceptpending or declined events upon the occurrence of a predefined event.The response generator 145 may be, or may include, computer-readablemachine code executable by the mail management server 105 to receiveelectronic mail messages, determine that the received electronic mailmessage contains a request, interpret the request, and automaticallygenerate a responsive reply with relevant information. The metrictracker 150 may be, or may include, computer-readable machine codeexecutable by the mail management server 105 to monitor at least onemessage center, track various predefined metrics based oncharacteristics of the electronic mail messages received by the at leastone message center, and display the various tracked messages on userinterface 160. The message handling application 155 on the client 110may share similar functionalities as the mail management server 105.

The message handling application 155 executing on the client 110 mayreceive, retrieve, or otherwise identify one or more properties definingat least one distribution list to which to assign a user of the client110. The properties may identify or include, for example: a useridentifier referencing the user, the client 110, or the individualinstance of the message handling application 155; a request type ofelectronic mail messages the user is to be assigned to respond to; ageographic region or location in which the user is located; groupidentifier referencing which group the user belongs to in anorganization or association; and other information. The properties maybe used to select which distribution list the user of the client 110 isto be assigned. At least a portion of the properties may be inputted bythe user via the user interface 160 of the message handling application155. For example, upon request, the message handling application 155 mayprovide a dialogue box in the user interface 160 in which the user caninput the properties for defining the distribution list. The dialoguebox may be in the form as shown in FIG. 6 .

With identification, the message handling application 155 may provide,send, or otherwise transmit the one or more properties to assign theuser to the distribution list to the mail management server 105. Withdetection of an interaction with the user interface 160 to input theproperties for the distribution list, the message handling application155 may send the one or more properties to the mail management server105. In some embodiments, the message handling application 155 may addinformation to the properties, outside of those inputted via the userinterface 160, upon detection of the interaction. For instance, uponcompletion of the dialogue box for defining the distribution list on theuser interface 160, the message handling application 155 may add theuser identifier to the properties and transmit the properties to themail management server 105.

The distribution list manager 120 executing on the mail managementserver 105 may obtain, identify, or otherwise receive the one or moreproperties to assign the user of the client 110. The one or moreproperties may be received via the user interface 160 of the messagehandling application 155 running on the client 110. The distributionlist manager 120 may process or parse the one or more properties toidentify information (e.g., the request type or group identifier)inputted by the user of the client 110 and included by the messagehandling application 155. Upon receipt, the distribution list manager120 may store and maintain the properties on a database accessible tothe mail management server 105 (e.g., on the cloud network 115). In someembodiments, the distribution list manager 120 may automaticallygenerate the parameters, independently from inputting via the mailhandling application 155. For example, the distribution list manager 120may use organizational data identifying the users by associated group toproduce the parameters defining which distribution list the user is tobe assigned.

Using the one or more properties, the distribution list manager 120 mayselect or identify at least one distribution list to which to assign theuser of the client 110. The distribution list manager 120 may maintain aset of distribution lists for users accessing respective instances ofthe message handling application 155 running on clients 110. Eachdistribution list may define or specify a combination of parameters(e.g., request types and group identifiers) with which to assign theuser to the respective distribution list. To identify, the distributionlist manager 120 may compare the one or more properties from the userwith the specification of parameters for each distribution list. If theproperties from the user do not match the specification, thedistribution list manager 120 may refrain from assigning the user to thedistribution list. Otherwise, if the properties from the user match thespecification, the distribution list manager 120 may assign, set, orotherwise associate the user to the distribution list. The user may beassigned to one distribution list or multiple distribution lists.

The assignment handler 125 executing on the mail management server 105may identify or receive a set of electronic mail messages to be sent tothe user of the client 110. For example, the assignment handler 125executing on the mail management server 105 operating as a mail exchangeservice can identify the electronic mail messages identifying the userof the client 110 as the recipient of the message. In some embodiments,the assignment handler 125 may intercept electronic mail messages inroute to the client 110. In some embodiments, the assignment handler 125may retrieve, obtain, or identify the set of electronic mail messagesalready received at the client 110. For instance, the assignment handler125 may interface with a mail agent running on client 110 to identifythe received electronic mail messages.

Each electronic mail message (sometimes herein referred to as anelectronic mail or e-mail) may include at least one header and at leastone body message. The header and body message may be in accordance witha syntax. The header may include, for example: a sender (e.g., a fromfield) identify the writer of the message; a timestamp (e.g., date,hour, minute, and seconds); one or more recipients (e.g., a To field,carbon copy (CC) field, and blind carbon copy (BCC) field) to which themessage is to be sent; a message identifier uniquely identifying aparticular electronic mail message or thread; a reply-to identifiercorresponding to the message identifier corresponding to an electronicmail message which a subsequent electronic mail message is respondingto; a subject including a descriptor of the body message; and contenttype identifying a formatting of the message (e.g., plaintext, richtext, or HyperText Markup Language (HTML), among others. The bodymessage may include content corresponding to a message composed by thesender and to be viewed by the recipients.

Based on the assignment of the user to one of the distribution lists andthe content in the electronic mail messages, the assignment handler 125may select a subset of electronic mail messages for the user. From amongthe electronic mail messages to be sent to the user, the selectedmessages may correspond to those that are to be brought to the attentionof the user. Each distribution may define or specify criteria forselecting the subset of electronic mail messages for the user. Thecriteria may include, for example, keywords or phrases correlated with arequest type and group associated with the distribution list. Forinstance, for a financial institution, the distribution list associatedwith email addresses of securities brokers may include keywords orphrases, such as “purchase order,” “order status,” and ticker names,among others. Electronic mail messages with such keywords in the subjector body may be selected to bring to attention to the user of the mailmanagement application 155.

With the identification of the messages to be sent to the user, theassignment handler 125 may process or parse each electronic mail messageto extract or identify the contents of the electronic mail message, suchas the headers and the body message. Upon extraction, the assignmenthandler 125 may compare keywords from the content with the selectioncriteria for the distribution. Continuing from the previous example, theassignment handler 125 may scan the subject and body message todetermine whether there are any keywords or phrases for the distributionlist for securities brokers. If there are no content in the electronicmail message that match the selection criterion, the assignment handler125 may exclude the electronic mail message from selection for the user.The assignment handler 125 may also determine that the electronic mailmessage is to be excluded from the distribution list to which the useris assigned. On the other hand, if there are content in the electronicmail message that does match the selection criterion, the assignmenthandler 125 may include or select the electronic mail message for theuser. The assignment handler 125 may also determine that the electronicmail message is to be selected for the distribution list to which theuser is assigned.

In some embodiments, the assignment handler 125 may apply a naturallanguage processing (NPL) algorithm to the content of the electronicmail message. The NPL algorithm may include, for example, automatedsummarization, information retrieval, topic recognition, named entityrecognition, or lexical semantics analysis (e.g., using a knowledgegraph), among others to analyze the content of the electronic mailmessage. With the application of the NPL algorithm, the assignmenthandler 125 may produce or generate additional keywords, phrases, orother output from the content, with which to compare against theselection criterion of the distribution list. For instance, fromapplying the NPL algorithm to the body message, the assignment handler125 may generate an output indicting that an electronic mail messagecontains content pertinent to security purchase orders. The assignmenthandler 125 may compare the output with the selection criterion of thedistribution list as discussed above.

With the selection, the assignment handler 125 may provide, send, orotherwise transmit an identification of the subset of the electronicmail messages to the client 110 for presentation in an electronicmailbox of a user interface 160 of the message handling application 155.The identification may reference the selected electronic mail messagesto be brought to the user's attention, and may include instructions tothe message handling application 155 to display the selected electronicmail messages separately from the unselected messages in the userinterface 160. In some embodiments, the assignment handler 125 mayinclude the identification into the electronic mail message itself, forexample, into the subject line or in the body message. In someembodiments, the assignment handler 125 may transmit the identificationto the message handling application 155, separately from the electronicmail messages.

From the mail management server 105, the message handling application155 may receive the identification of the subset of the electronic mailmessages selected based on the assignment of the user to thedistribution list and the content of the electronic mail messages. Themessage handling application 155 may receive the identification togetherwith or separately from the electronic mail messages.

The message handling application 155 may display, render, or otherwisepresent the selected subset of electronic mail messages in a messagelist of the user interface 160. The message list may be one or moreelements of the user interface 160 for displaying the selectedelectronic mail messages as identified using the distribution list. Themessage list may catalogue the selected electronic mail messages (orthreads) in a chronological sequence in order of sent or received time.The user interface 160 may also include message panel to present thecontent of one of the electronic mail message selected on the messagelist. The message list and message panel of the user interface 160 may,for example, be of the form in FIGS. 7-10 . In some embodiments, themessage list may include at least one element to enable the user to viewall the electronic mail messages received by the user, including themessages excluded using the distribution list.

In some embodiments, the message handling application 155 may identify,from the subset of electronic mail messages, an electronic mail messagefor which no response is sent within a defined time window afterreceipt. Upon receipt of each electronic mail message, the messagehandling application 155 may maintain a timer to keep track time ofelapsed since receipt of the electronic mail message. The timer may bemaintained for each electronic mail message selected using thedistribution list. The defined time window may identify a span of timein which the message is to be responded by the user, for example, bycreating and sending a response message. The time window may range, forexample, between 3 days to 1 month. The message handling application 155may compare the elapsed time to the defined time window. If the elapsedtime does not exceed the time window, the message handling application155 may continue to monitor for responses by the user to electronic mailmessage. If a response is detected within the time window, the messagehandling application 155 may deactivate or remove the timer for theelectronic mail message.

If no response is detected within the time window, the message handlingapplication 155 may initiate an escalation procedure. As part of theprocedure, upon identification of the electronic mail message receivingno response within a defined time window after receipt, the messagehandling application 155 may present provide in the message panel of theuser interface 160 an indicator. The indicator may identify theelectronic mail message as having no response within the defined timewindow. The message handling application 155 may also send an indicationto the mail management server 105 that another user in the samedistribution list as the user is to be notified. Upon receipt, theassignment handler 125 on the mail management server 105 may identifyone or more users in the same distribution list as the user. With theidentification, the assignment handler 125 may provide the notificationalong with the electronic mail message itself to the other user.

In some embodiments, the assignment handler 125 on the mail managementserver 105 may identify the defined time window has passed with noresponse. The functionality of the assignment handler 125 may be similarto the message handling application 155 with respect to escalation asdiscussed above. The assignment handler 125 may identify, from thesubset of electronic mail messages, an electronic mail message for noresponse is sent within a defined time window after receipt. Uponidentification of an electronic mail message receiving no responsewithin a defined time window after receipt, the assignment handler 125may send or transmit an indicator to the client 110. The indicator mayidentify the electronic mail message as having no response within thedefined time window. Upon receipt, the message handling application 155may present the in the message list or panel of the user interface 160.

In some embodiments, the message handling application 155 may identifyor receive from a user, via the user interface 160, a request to changeassignment of at least one electronic mail message of the subset ofelectronic mail messages to another user. The request may identify theelectronic mail message for which the assignment is to be changed toanother user or another distribution list. The request may be generatedvia a dialogue box of the user interface 160, with which the user canidentify the electronic mail message as well as one or more parameters(e.g., request type or group) for defining a distribution list or thespecific distribution list. For instance, the user may use the userinterface 160 to request that one or more electronic mail messages inthe message list is to be reassigned another user.

Upon receipt, the message handling application 155 may provide, send, orotherwise transmit an indication that the electronic mail message is tobe assigned to a second distribution list. The indication may betransmitted to the mail management server 105 in response to receipt ofthe request to change assignment. In conjunction, the message handlingapplication 155 may remove the electronic mail message among the subsetof electronic mail messages in the message list from presentation on theuser interface 160. The removed electronic mail message may beaccessible through the user interface 160 when the user requests fordisplay of all received electronic mail messages.

In some embodiments, the assignment handler 125 executing on the mailmanagement server 105 may receive from a user, via client 110, a requestto change assignment of an electronic mail message of a subset ofelectronic mail messages to another user. The request may include oridentify the electronic mail message as well as one or more parametersfor defining a distribution list or the specific distribution list. Insome embodiments, the assignment handler 125 may invoke the distributionlist manger 120 to identify at least one other distribution list usingthe parameters from the request. In some embodiments, from invoking thedistribution list manger 120, the assignment handler 125 may identify atleast one other user in the other distribution list to which to reassignthe electronic mail message.

Upon identification, the assignment handler 125 may provide, send, ortransmit an indication that the electronic mail message is to beassigned to the other user (or the other distribution list). Theassignment handler 125 may then send an indication to client 110 toremove the electronic mail message among the subset of electronic mailmessages in the message list from presentation in the user's electronicmailbox as displayed on user interface 160. In addition, the assignmenthandler 125 may also send the indication to another client 110 of theidentified user to which the electron mail message is to be reassigned.The assignment handler 125 may provide, send, or otherwise forward theelectronic mail message that is assigned to the client 110 of the otheridentified user.

With the presentation of the electronic mail messages, the messagehandling application 155 may detect, identify, or otherwise receive arequest to present an electronic mail thread as a chat conversationthread, via the user interface 160. The request may be detected via aninteraction with a user interface element of the user interface 160. Therequest may identify a set of electronic mail messages corresponding toan electronic mail thread that is to be converted to a chat conversationthread. The electronic mail thread may, for example, correspond to a setor chain of electronic mail messages among senders and recipients, withthe same message identifier in the reply-to field.

Upon receipt of the request, the message handling application 155 mayextract or identify main content and auxiliary content from the set ofelectronic mail messages corresponding to the electronic mail thread.Both the main content and the auxiliary content may be part of the bodymessage of the set of electronic mail message. The main content maycorrespond to a portion of the body message including primary text andother content, such as the salutation and one or more subsequentparagraphs, generally toward the beginning and middle of the bodymessage. The auxiliary content may correspond to the remaining portionsof the message may, such as a closing message (e.g., “Best [name]”),signatures, and disclaimers generally toward the end of the bodymessage.

In some embodiments, the message handling application 155 may recognize,detect, or otherwise identify the auxiliary content in the body messageof each electronic mail message of the thread. For example, the messagehandling application 155 may use template defining text correlated withauxiliary content. The message handling application 155 may performmatching to compare against the contents of the body message. If thereis a match, the message handling application 155 may identify thematching portions as auxiliary content, and the remaining portion asmain content.

The message handling application 155 may generate a chat conversationthread to include the main content, while excluding the auxiliarycontent from the electronic mail messages corresponding to theelectronic mail thread. In some embodiments, the message handlingapplication 155 may add time stamps from the headers of the electronicmail messages forming the thread. The message handling application 155may format the main content of the electronic mail thread to convert tothe chat conversation thread. For instance, the message handlingapplication 155 may set the font of the text in the main content inunison, remove indentations, and include time stamps, among otherformatting changes to conform to specifications of the chat conversationthread. With the conversion, the message handling application 155 maypresent at least a portion of the chat conversation thread in themessage panel of the user interface 160. An example of the conversionfrom the electronic mail message to the chat conversation message isshown on FIGS. 16A and 16B.

In some embodiments, the message converter 130 executing on the mailmanagement server 105 may perform the conversion of the electronic mailthread to present as the chat conversation thread. The conversion of theelectronic mail thread to the chat conversation thread may be similar asdiscussed above. The message converter 130 may receive the request topresent the electronic mail thread as the chat conversation thread viathe interaction with the user interface 160 from the client 110. Uponreceipt of the request, the message converter 130 may identify maincontent and auxiliary content from a set of electronic mail messagescorresponding to the electronic mail thread. The message converter 130may generate a chat conversation thread to include the main content,while excluding the auxiliary content from the electronic mail messagescorresponding to the electronic mail thread. The message converter 130may send the chat conversation thread to the client 110 for presentationof at least a portion of the chat conversation thread in the messagepanel of the user interface 160.

Conversely, the message handling application 155 may identify or receivea request to add a chat conversation thread from another application asone of the subset of electronic mail messages in the message list. Thechat conversation thread may not be handled by the message handlingapplication 155, but by another application. The other application maybe a chat conversation application, such as Symphony Communication™,Slack™, and WhatsApp™, among others. The message handling application155 may interface with the chat conversation application to fetch,retrieve, or otherwise identify the chat conversation thread therefrom.The request may identify the particular chat conversation thread to beconverted to a subset of electronic mail messages to form an electronicmail thread.

Upon receipt of the request, the message handling application 155 mayoutput, produce, or otherwise generate an electronic mail thread using aset of conversations of the chat conversation thread. The conversationthread may identify participants. Each conversation may correspond to atleast one message communicated from a sender to a recipient. Togenerate, the message handling application 155 may format theconversations of the chat conversation thread in accordance with theelectronic mail thread. For instance, the message handling application155 may use the identifiers for the sender and recipient from the chatconversation to the sender and recipient fields of the header of arespective electronic mail message. In addition, the message handlingapplication 155 may add the message of each chat conversation into thebody message of the corresponding electronic mail message. With thegeneration, the message handling application 155 may display or presenton the message list of the user interface 160 an identification of theelectronic mail thread among a plurality of threads. Upon selection ofthe electronic mail thread in the message list, the message handlingapplication 155 may display the corresponding set of electronic mailmessages in the message panel of the user interface 160. An example ofthe conversion from the chat conversation message to the electronic mailmessage is shown on FIG. 15 .

In some embodiments, the message converter 135 executing on the mailmanagement server 105 may receive a request to add a chat conversationthread from a second application as one of the subset of messages in themessage list. The addition of the chat conversation thread may besimilar to the addition by the message handling application 155, asdiscussed above. Upon receipt of the request, the message converter 135may generate an electronic mail thread to include a second subset ofmessages corresponding to a plurality of conversations of the chatconversation thread. The message converter 135 may then provide theelectronic mail thread to the mail management application 155 on theclient 110 to present an identification of the electronic mail threadamong a plurality of threads on the user interface 160.

The message handling application 155 may identify a set of attachments(e.g., files or other messages) available to be added to the electronicmail messages in the message list of the user interface 160. The messagehandling application 155 may provide one or more user interface elementsto select the set of attachments via the user interface 160. Forinstance, the message handling application 155 may provide a filedirectory window via which the user can navigate the file hierarchy ofthe client 110 or other cloud storage services to select files forattachments. Upon selection, the message handling application 155 mayprovide the set of attachments available to be added to at least one ofthe electronic mail messages via an attachment window at least partiallyconcurrently with the message list of the user interface 160.

In some embodiments, the attachment manager 135 executing on the mailmanagement server 105 may provide, via an attachment window at leastpartially concurrently with the message list of the user interface, aset of attachments available to be added to at least one of the subsetof messages. The provision of the set of attachments may be similar asdiscussed above. The attachment manager 135 may receive the selection ofattachments via the user interface 160 of message handling application155. Upon selection, the message handling application 155 may providethe identification of the attachments for presentation via a separatewindow or list on the user interface 160.

The message handling application 155 may identify or receive a requestto cancel a first calendar event via the user interface 160. Thecalendar event may correspond to one of the subset of electronic mailmessages that was previously received and accepted by the user of theclient 110. The request itself may identify the calendar event to becanceled. For instance, the user of the message handling application 155may interact with a user interface element corresponding to the calendarevent to open up a window identifying details of the calendar event tocancel the calendar event. The message handling application 155 maydetect the interaction with the window to cancel as the request tocancel.

Upon receipt of the request, the message handling application 155 mayidentify a second calendar event for a time slot at least partiallyconcurrent with the first calendar event. The message handlingapplication 155 may identify selected electronic mail messagescorresponding to calendar events. From the identified calendar events,the message handling application 155 may identify another calendar eventat least partially overlapping with the canceled calendar event. Withthe identification of the calendar event, the message handlingapplication 155 may present an identification of the calendar event as arecommendation to replace the canceled calendar event on the userinterface 160.

In some embodiments, the calendar manager 140 executing on the mailmanagement server 105 may receive a request to cancel a first calendarevent corresponding to one of the subset of electronic mail messages.The handling of the request to cancel by the calendar manager 140 on themail management server 105 may be similar to the handling of the requestto cancel as discussed above. Upon receipt of the request, the calendarmanager 140 may identify a second calendar event for a time slot atleast partially concurrent with the first calendar event. With theidentification of a second calendar event, the calendar manager 140 mayprovide on the user interface 160 the identification of the secondcalendar event.

The message handling application 155 may provide a response for at leastone of the electronic mail messages in the user interface 160. Theresponse may be automatically generated using at a portion of thecontent (e.g., the header or the body message) of the electronic mailmessage. In some embodiments, the message handling application 155 maydetect, identify, or otherwise receive a request to provide an automatedresponse via the user interface 160 or from the content of theelectronic mail message itself. The request may identify the electronicmail message for which the automated response is to be generated. Theresponse may be provided as a draft electronic mail message for the userof the client 110 to reply to the sender.

Using the content of the electronic mail message, the message handlingapplication 155 may generate a query for information to send to a searchplatform (e.g., for searching an internal dataset). The query may begenerated in response to presence of keywords or phrases within thecontent correlated with the query for information. For instance, themessage handling application 155 may identify that the electronic mailmessage includes keywords associated with a particular order ofsecurities, and may generate query for the platform using the keywordsand identification of the order. The message handling application 155may receive results from the platform, and use the results to generatethe automated response. Examples of the automated generated response maybe of the form as seen in FIGS. 17 and 18 .

In some embodiments, the response generator 145 executing on the mailmanagement server 105 may generate and provide an automated response forat least one of the electronic mail messages in the user interface 160.The generation of the automated response may be in a similar manner asdiscussed above. The response may be automatically generated using at aportion of the content (e.g., the header or the body message) of theelectronic mail message. In some embodiments, the response generator 145may detect, identify, or otherwise receive a request to provide anautomated response via the user interface 160 or from the contents ofthe electronic mail message. Using the content of the electronic mailmessage, the response generator 145 may generate a query for informationto retrieve from a search platform. With the results from the platform,the response generator 145 may generate the automated response.

The message handling application 155 may provide a statistic indicatorassociated with provision of the electronic mail messages to the client110 in accordance with the distribution list. The statistic indicatormay correspond to visualization of the statistics and metrics associatedwith the electronic mail messages for the client 110, the user, or theoverall distribution list, such as percentages of open inquiries,request types, escalations, response rate, and trends, among others. Thestatistic indicators may be provided upon request by the user, forexample, by interaction with the user interface 160 to retrievestatistics. The message handling application 155 may present thestatistic indicators in a dashboard of the user interface 160. In someembodiments, the metric tracker 150 executing on the mail managementserver 105 may provide and present statistics in a similar manner asdiscussed. Examples statistics are shown on FIGS. 3-5 .

FIG. 2 depicts a flow diagram of a process 200 of managing and handlingelectronic mail messages. Embodiments may include additional, fewer, ordifferent operations from those described in the process 200. Theprocess 200 may be performed by any of the components described herein,for example, the mail management system 105 and the client 110 of FIG. 1. At step 205, a computing system may identify properties defining adistribution list for assigning a user. The properties may identify orinclude, for example: a user identifier referencing the user, theclient, or the individual instance of an application; a request type ofelectronic mail messages the user is to be assigned to respond to; ageographic region or location in which the user is located; groupidentifier referencing which group the user belongs to in anorganization or association; and other information

At step 210, the computing system may identify a distribution list for auser. The computing system may maintain a set of distribution lists towhich to assign users. Each distribution list may define or specify acombination of parameters (e.g., request types and group identifiers)with which to assign the user to the respective distribution list. Inidentifying, the computing system may compare the one or more propertiesfrom the user with the specification of parameters for each distributionlist. If the properties from the user do not match the specification,the computing system may refrain from assigning the user to thedistribution list. Otherwise, if the properties from the user match thespecification, the computing system may assign, set, or otherwiseassociate the user to the distribution list

At step 215, the computing system may select a subset of electronic mailmessages for the user in accordance with the distribution list. Theselection may be from electronic mail messages intended to be receivedby the user. Each electronic mail message may include a header (e.g.,sender, recipients, message identifier, and subject) and a body message,among others. Each distribution list may specify criteria (e.g.,keywords or phrases) for selecting electronic mail messages. Thecomputing system may perform the selection by scanning the electronicmail message to determine whether the message contains any matchingkeywords or phrases. If there are matching keywords or phrases, thecomputing system may select the electronic mail message.

At step 220, the computing system may present the selected electronicmail messages in a user interface. The computing system may provide anidentification of the selected electronic mail messages. Theidentification may reference the selected electronic mail messages to bebrought to the user's attention in a message list. The computing systemmay also provide instructions to the application to display the selectedelectronic mail messages separately from the unselected messages in theuser interface.

At step 225, the computing system may perform various operations on theelectronic mail messages on the user interface. Upon presentation, thecomputing system may provide one or more functionalities with respect tothe electronic mail messages. For instance, upon request, the computingsystem may provide an email to chat conversion, a chat to emailconversion, automated response generation, calendar managements, andfile attachments, among others.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , depicts a screenshot of a dashboard graphicaluser interface 300 of mailbox statistics displayed via an interface. TheGUI 300 may include various graphics to display certain messagestatistics 302-310 to a user via a computing device. As depicted, themessage statistics displayed on GUI 300 may include open inquiries bygroup 302; inquiries trend 304; mailbox statistics 306, includingpending approval 306 a, potential escalation 306 b, assigned to me 306c, and specific client 306 d; open inquiries by request type 308; andintensity heatmap 310, among others.

The open inquiries by group 302 may include a graphical illustration 302a to depict each group's open inquiries as a percentage of all openinquiries. In some embodiments, the graphical illustration 302A is a piechart. In other embodiments, the graphical illustration 302A is anygraphical illustration that can be used to compare percentages of awhole (e.g., a bar graph, a histogram, a scatter plot, etc.). The OpenInquiries by Group may also include a legend 302 b for the graphicalillustration 302A. Legend 302B may use various visualizations to map theinformation based in the graphical illustration 302A to the legendinformation found in legend 302B.

The Inquiries Trend 304 may include a graphical illustration 304A todepict the number of messages received over time in a group. In someembodiments, the graphical illustration 304A is a timeline. According tosome embodiments, the x-axis of the graphical illustration 304A is timeand the y-axis is the number of messages received. Additionally, in someembodiments, a time option 304A to change the time period displayed onthe x-axis. In some embodiments, a user is able to choose betweenvarious time periods (e.g., one day, one week, one month, one year,etc.) for which to view the number of messages received by selecting oneof the options available at time option 304A.

Upon selecting a time period, graphical illustration 304A may beautomatically rescaled to the appropriate time period, corresponding tothe option chosen by user. In some embodiments, the x-axis of graphicalillustration 304A may be divided into several smaller time periods toaid in viewing the data. The GUI 300 may be divided along the x-axisautomatically based on an appropriate division of time with respect tothe option chosen by the user at option 304B. In some embodiments, theuser may select a custom time division for the x-axis. In addition, theinquiries trend 304 may also include an inquiry option 304C. Inquiryoption 304 c may include a visual element with which the user mayinteract with to select a specific message or inquiry type to displaystatistics on. The statistics displayed may be the timeline of number ofmessages/inquiries received over time with the chosen message or inquirytype.

The mailbox statistics 306 may include a group's or individual's variousmailbox statistics 306A-306D, including Pending Approval 306A, PotentialEscalation 306B, Assigned to Me 306C, and Specific Client 306D. Mailboxstatistics 306A-D may include a graphical illustration to aid indisplaying the statistics. In addition, the mailbox statistics 306A-Dmay include a total number of messages relating to the correspondingstatistic with a change in percentage from a previous time period. Insome embodiments, the change in percentage may be color-coded so as toeasily communicate to the user whether a particular statistic increasedor decreased. For example, a positive percentage change (e.g.,qualitative or quantitative) may be displayed in a first color (e.g.,green font). Conversely, a negative percentage change (e.g., qualitativeor quantitative) may be displayed in a second color (e.g., red font).Also, a static percentage (e.g., a percentage change of “0”) may bedisplayed in a third color (e.g., yellow font).

The open inquiries by request type 308 may include a graphicalillustration 308A. The graphical illustration 308A may display thenumber of messages/inquiries received by an individual or group, dividedby the type of message or inquiry. For example, graphical illustration308A may be a bar graph with various distinct message types and displaysthe number of each message type by quantity received, as shown in FIG. 3. According to other embodiments, the graphical illustration 308A may bean alternative graph type (e.g., pie graph, scatter plot, histogram,etc.). As with open inquiries by group 302, open inquiries by requesttype 308 may include a legend 308B to aid the user in deciphering thedata displayed in graphical illustration 308A. Open inquiries by requesttype 308 may also include an option 308C to hide the legend 308B. Option308C may be visual element capable of receiving various inputs. Forexample, option 308C may be a radio button, text string input, slider,dial, or drop-down menu, among others.

The Intensity Heatmap 310 may also include various graphicalillustrations 310A-C. The Intensity Heatmap 310 may depict the amount ofmessages having a particular priority handling, such as a highestpriority 310 a (e.g., platinum), a second priority 310 b (e.g.,priority), and a third priority or other status 310 c. The IntensityHeatmap 310 may be useful in illustrating how the messages are allocatedto the various priority statuses, which may be helpful in allocating theworkflow.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, each depict a screenshot of adashboard of mailbox statistics displayed via an interface for a mobiledevice. The statistical information displayed the mobile device. Thewebserver or local hosting agent may display the statistical dashboard400A-B through a web-based browser on the user's mobile device. Thestatistical data (with accompanying options and legends) displayed onstatistical dashboard GUI 300 of FIG. 3 may be displayed on statisticaldashboards 400A-B. As depicted here, the statistical dashboard 400A-Bmay be sized to fit the form of a mobile device. For example, themailbox statistics 402-406 may be vertically displayed so as to allowthe user to scroll vertically on a mobile device to view the mailboxstatistics 402-406.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , depicted is a screenshot of a dashboard GUI500 of various statistics displayed via an interface for a mobiledevice. The statistical dashboard GUI 500 may be displayed in aweb-based browser on a computing device. The statistical dashboard GUI500 may include several statistical analyses 502-532 of a given mailbox.The mailbox may represent a single user's mailbox, a distributionmailbox, a group mailbox, etc. As such, the statistical analyses 502-532may communicate information on both individual mailboxes anddistribution/group mailboxes. Statistical analyses 502-532 may displaystatistics on (1) messages unassigned for greater than one hour 502, (2)messages responded to in less than two hours 504, (3) messages resolvedin less than twenty-four hours 506, (4) total external messages 508, (5)client potential escalations 510, (6) messages in the queue for morethan two hours 512, (7) client inquiries open for more than twenty-fourhours 514, (8) snoozed inquiries 516, (9) total activity 518, (10)messages aged over three days 520, (11) total users 522, (12) closedinquiries 524, (13) a comparison between users responding to messages inless than two hours 526, (14) a comparison between users resolving tomessages in less than twenty-four hours 528, (15) a comparison betweenusers' total messages 530, and (16) messages dead on delivery 532, amongothers.

The detailed statistical dashboard GUI 500 may prioritize statisticsbased on metrics tracking a clients' experience rather than the user'sproductivity by displaying client-experience statistics first as shownin the statistical analyses 502-516. Overall statistics 518-524 may bedisplayed under the client-experience statistics 502-516. The user mayalso customize the view of the detailed statistical dashboard bychoosing which statistical analyses 502-532 to include, in what order toinclude, and what format to display. As with the GUI 300 of FIG. 3 , thestatistical analyses 502-532 may use graphic illustrations to displaythe statistical information provided on the dashboard. For example, apercentage graph 502 a may use two colors to show what percentage oftotal messages meet a specified criteria (e.g., number of messagesunassigned for more than two hours).

Likewise, the graphical illustration may include a change-in-percentageindicator 502 b. The change-in-percentage indicator 502 b may use acolor-coded format to visually display changes in percentage. Forexample, change-in-percentage indicator 502 b may use a first font color(e.g., green) to signify a positive change in percentage of messagesunassigned for over an hour (e.g., positive qualitatively orquantitatively). A second font color (e.g., red) may be used to signifya negative change in percentage of messages unassigned for over an hour(e.g., negative qualitatively or quantitatively). A third font color(e.g., yellow) may be used to signify no change in percentage ofmessages unassigned for over an hour (e.g., no change qualitatively orquantitatively).

Detailed statistical dashboard GUI 500 may also include statisticalanalyses 526-530, wherein multiple users' statistics are comparativelydisplayed. For example, user-comparison graph 526A may display, in a bargraph, a subset of users with corresponding data related to a specifiedorganizational metric. For example, in user-comparison graph 526A, usersare compared based on how many messages each user responded to withintwo hours of receipt. In this graphical illustration, a user (e.g., amanager or administrator) may more readily track individual users'metrics when compared to other users. If the number of selected users tocompare is too large to fit within the predefined space for comparisongraph 526A, the user may scroll within the predefined space forcomparison graph 526A to view all available data. A user may customizethe detailed statistical dashboard GUI 500 by defining the set of usersor groups to compare. The user may define the set of users or groups tocompare in a variety of ways, including radio buttons, drop-down menus,text string input, etc. In this way, the user may view one subset ofusers in one viewing configuration, and then view a second subset ofusers in a second viewing configuration.

Referring now to FIG. 6 , depicted is a screenshot of a dialogue box 600for selecting parameters to define a distribution list to which toassign a user. The dialogue box 600 may be for specifying request typesand ownership for a distribution list 602. As illustrated, a user maydefine the criteria (i.e., “request type”) 606 for a message to beassigned to a distribution list 602. A user may also specify the owners604 for a distribution list 602.

In some embodiments, a user may select a distribution list 602 from alist of distribution lists found within the distribution list dialoguebox 600. For example, dropdown menu 610 may include all availabledistribution lists for a user to select. Once a distribution list (e.g.,602) is selected, a user may define the members of the distribution list(i.e., owners 604). Selected owners 604 receive all messages meetingdistribution list's message characteristics 606 (i.e., request type).

In distribution list dialogue box 600, the user may also define thedistribution list's message characteristics 606 of the messages assignedto distribution list 602. For example, a user may define a distributionlist message characteristic 606 to be certain content within the body ofa message (e.g., inquiries on a financial trade, bank statement, creditcard inquiry, lending request, etc.). Distribution list messagecharacteristics 606 may also include certain recipients (e.g., allmessages going to a team lead may be sent to the team distributionlist), certain senders (e.g., all messages coming from a client may besent to the client distribution list), time or receipt (e.g., allmessages received after hours may be sent to the after-hoursdistribution list), etc.

Referring now to FIG. 7 , depicted is a screenshot of an interface 700of an application including a message list and a message panel. Theinterface 700 may include an electronic mailbox 702 (also hereinreferred to as a message list) with accompanying message panel 704. Inthis configuration, the messages selected using the Distribution ListManager 120 may be displayed in the user's electronic mailbox 702vertically in a list. Because the messages are selectively sent to theuser based on artificial intelligence, natural language processing,machine learning, and user input, a reduction of junk mail andirrelevant messages are received by the user.

The provision of electronic mail messages in this manner may drasticallyreduce the amount of mail the user receives. Because of this, the usermay utilize the electronic mailbox 702 as a “to-do” list, with onlyactionable and relevant emails arriving at the inbox. Various relevantdata categories are displayed for each email. For example, “from” 702A,“subject” 702B, “assigned to” 702C, “assigned from” 702D, “received”702E, “age of message” 702F, “possible escalation” 702G, among othersare displayed.

The electronic mailbox 702 may be configurable to be filtered accordingto the various relevant data categories. Additionally, the user mayclick and drag individual messages within the list of messages tocustomize the order of messages to the user's preference. In this way,the user may further utilize the electronic mailbox 702 as a “to-do”list by deciding which messages reside at the top of the list ofmessages, and thus may command more attention of the user. In additionto the electronic mailbox 702, the interface 700 includes a messagepanel 704. Once a user selects a message 708 from the electronic mailbox702, the full message populates in the message panel 704.

A user's electronic mailbox may also be displayed by the mail managementserver 105 of FIG. 1 in a mobile application. As with the message center700 of FIG. 7 , the mobile electronic mailbox of FIGS. 8-10 may be setto various predefined filtered views which may filter the user'smessages from various messaging platforms (e.g., email, chat, textmessage, etc.) for specific work flows. For example, FIG. 8 depicts anelectronic mailbox 800 in a filtered “Assigned to Me” view, FIG. 9depicts an electronic mailbox 900 in a filtered “Pending Approval” view,and FIG. 10 depicts an electronic mailbox 1000 in a filtered “PotentialEscalation” view. Additional filtered views exist, includinguser-customized filter views. In these filtered views, select messagesmeeting the filtered view's filtering criteria are shown. In this way, auser's electronic mailbox shows only the relevant messages to a user.

Referring now to FIG. 8 , depicted is a screenshot of an interface 800of an application for a mobile device including a message list. As inthe interface 700, the interface 800 may display the messages selectedusing the distribution list. Various relevant data categories may bedisplayed for each message, for example “from,” “subject,” “assignedto,” “assigned from,” “received,” “age of message,” “possibleescalation,” “read/unread status,” “attachments,” “type of message”(e.g., conversation thread, email, chat, etc.), among others. Theinterface 800 is configurable to be filtered according to the variousrelevant data categories described above. Additionally, the user mayclick and drag individual messages within the list of messages tocustomize the order of messages to the user's preference. In this way,the user may further utilize the interface 800 as a “to-do” list bydeciding which messages reside at the top of the list of messages, andthus may command more attention of the user. The interface 800 mayinclude the filtered “Assigned to Me” view 802, according to oneembodiment. The messages specifically assigned to the user may befiltered for the user to view.

Referring now to FIG. 9 , depicted is a screenshot of an interface 900of an application for a mobile device including a message list withindicators regarding approval. If there are no messages assigned to theuser then the user is presented with a second filtered view; the“Pending Approval” view 902 of FIG. 9 . In some embodiments, a user mayselect for a sent message to remain pending until a second user approvesthe message for sending. A user may elect to request approval beforesending a message for various reasons. For example, a user may elect torequest approval when a message contains confidential information, amessage is to an important client, the message has an attachment that isto be reviewed, etc.

In the “Pending Approval” view 902, a user may view messages that arepending that user's approval. These messages, while resident in a firstuser's “Pending Approval” view 902, may be in multiple user's “PendingApproval” view, per the use of distribution lists manager 120 andassignment handler 125 as described herein. In this way, various usersmay award approval to the pending approval requests. Once approval hasbeen awarded, the message may be hidden from the mailbox of each userwho was assigned the message. The interface 900 may include acharacterization of the source of each message displayed. For example,email icon 904B may characterize the message 904A as being an emailwhile chat message 906B may characterize the message 906A as being achat message from a distinct messaging platform.

Referring now to FIG. 10 , depicted is a screenshot of an interface 1000of an application for a mobile device including a message list withindicators for potential escalations. The interface 1000 may be in athird, filtered view, a “Potential Escalation” view 1002. In someembodiments, various messages may be determined to be escalated in anelectronic mailbox when certain criteria are met. For example, if anactionable message (i.e., a received message requesting a response) hasnot been responded to in a predefined set of time (e.g., withintwenty-four hours), the message may be escalated.

In other words, the message may be sent to more users within adistribution list for which the message was previously hidden. Theseother users may be coworkers in the same distribution list, or even amanager. This may ensure that a message is responded to in due course bybringing attention to a pending message. To avoid this escalation, aprecursor to escalation, called “potential escalation,” may be carriedout. In some embodiments, a message may be sent to (or unhidden from)additional users within a distribution list if an actionable message isnot responded to within a predefined set of criteria. For example, if amessage will be escalated at twenty-four hours after receipt, it maybecome potentially escalated at two hours to ensure an escalation doesnot occur.

In the “Potential Escalation” view 1002 (as well as in the otherfiltered views), if a message is at risk of potential escalation, theescalation may be indicated by a visual element 1004. In someconfigurations, the visual element is a red triangle with an exclamationpoint within. The visual element 1004 can be any indicator to draw theuser's attention to the potential escalation risk, including animations,graphics, sounds, etc. The visual element may be an interactive element,so that when a user hovers an input device (e.g., a mouse cursor) overthe visual element 1004, the reason for the risk of potential escalationappears in a dialogue box (e.g., too much time has passed since receiptof the message). In “Potential Escalation” view 1002, a user may bepresented only with messages are characterized.

In some embodiments, the users will be directed to the “PotentialEscalation” view 1002 if there are no messages in the “Assigned to Me”view 802 of FIG. 8 or the “Pending Approval” view 902 of FIG. 9 . Inthis way, a user may be directed to the most relevant messages in apredefined sequential order. The criteria for the various filtered viewsdescribed above may be defined by the user or the organization (e.g.,through a manager, administrator, etc.). Likewise, the default view (andsubsequent order of displayed views) may also be defined by the user orthe organization (e.g., through a manager, administrator, etc.).Likewise, a user may define their own personalized filtered view basedon the various message data described above (e.g., to, from, subject,etc.).

Referring now to FIG. 11 , depicted is a screenshot of an interface 1100of an application for a mobile device including a message with varioustags. By using various input fields 1102A-F, a user may tag a messagewithin their electronic mailbox. The tagging may occur through anyvariation of input selection including drop-down menus, text stringinput, radio buttons, etc. From tagging a message, a user may manuallymove messages between distribution lists, update messagecharacteristics, etc. For example, upon receipt of a message, the mailmanagement server 105 may assign the message to User 1 based on (1) thecontents of the message and (2) the roles of users within DistributionList 1 (of which User 1 is a member). That message would appear in User1's electronic mailbox, specifically in User 1's “Assigned to Me” view802 of FIG. 8 . User 1 may realize that the message is not meant for theUser 1, but rather, for a different group of users in Distribution List2. User 1 may open the message's tagging dialogue box 1100 to change theGroup Tag 1102E. Upon changing the Group Tag 1102E, the message will beunassigned from User 1 (and the rest of the assigned users inDistribution List 1) and reassigned to a subset of users withinDistribution List 2 who are most likely to be responsible for themessage and any corresponding tasks.

Once the mail management server 105 assigns an actionable message (i.e.,an email requiring a response) to a user, the user (or other assigneduser) may be assigned to resolve the assignment by completing theassigned task or otherwise dispatching it (e.g., assigning it to anotheruser, tagging the message as not actionable, etc.). In some embodiments,actionable messages are called “queries.” In some embodiments the mailmanagement server 105 automatically may mark an actionable message asresolved based on a user's interaction with the message (e.g., if theuser assigns the message to another user or distribution list, if theuser responds to the email, if the user deletes the email, etc.).

Referring now to FIG. 12 , depicted is a screenshot of a dialogue boxfor an inquiry resolution. A user may manually tag a message as resolvedonce the user has dispatched of the actionable message (i.e., thequery). The Resolve Inquiry dialogue box 1200 is shown. A user mayarrive at the dialogue box 1200 from the user's electronic mailbox (asshown in FIGS. 8-10 ) and selecting a resolve-inquiry visual elementembedded in the page that corresponds to the actionable message. Theuser may then use the various input fields 1202-1208 to tag theactionable message as dispatched. If the user does not need to reply toan inquiry, the user can mark the inquiry as resolved, such as checkbox1208 for “actioned—no reply.” The action of resolving can alsoautomatically generate an email message to interested parties thatconfirms the resolution of the inquiry. By resolving an inquiry, theinquiry is removed from being an actionable item that appears for eachuser.

Referring now to FIG. 13 , depicted is a screenshot of an interface 1300of an application including a message list and a message panel with aside panel including an audit of events. In the interface 1300, an audittimeline 1304 is displayed in conjunction with other user interfaceelements. In this configuration, the audit timeline 1304 may bedisplayed for viewing in the user's message center 1300. The audittimeline 1304 may be a snapshot of all events that have occurred in thelife of the message from receipt, and may include entries for everyevent occurring therein. For example, once a message is received by themail management server 105, a first entry may be created in thetimeline. This event contains and displays relevant data concerning themessage for the user to view in relation to the rest of the timeline.This data may include the sender, the recipient, the subject, time ofreceipt, whether the message is internal or external, etc. By selectingthe message within the timeline, the user may access additional data notdisplayed in the default view. This additional information may includeany attachments included with the message, the actual text of themessage, any embedded metadata, geographical location of sender andrecipient, etc. Once an action is performed with respect to the message(e.g., responding, adding a note, forwarding, etc.) a new event 1306 iscreated in the timeline with all corresponding information.

A user may create and access a file containing all of the informationfound in the audit timeline 1304. In some configurations, there is afirst visual element 1308A, through which a user may download aspreadsheet of the audit-timeline information by selecting the firstvisual element 1308A with a user's input device (e.g., a mouse cursor).In some configurations, there is also a second visual element 1308B,through which a user may download a PDF file containing theaudit-timeline information by selecting the second visual element 1308Bwith a user's input device (e.g., a mouse cursor).

FIG. 13 depicts an Auto Assign button 1310. When a message is deliveredto a distribution list having a plurality of users, the message may beautomatically assigned to a particular user or group of users. Themessage will be automatically moved from the inbox to an Auto Assignfolder. Removing the message from the inbox allows users to moreefficiently handle those messages that have not been assigned to othersand may still need resolution. Adding the message to the Auto Assignfolder allows the users to check the folder to confirm that the messagehas been assigned to that user or another user. As a result, the AutoAssign functionality may further increase efficient use of this mailboxsystem. The message may appear in the inbox, but the system willautomatically remove the message and present it in a different box forviewing so that the user does not need to respond to the message in theinbox.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13 , in one embodiment, an artificialintelligence model may be trained on previous inquiries and resolutions.The artificial intelligence model may automate an assignment of aninquiry based on how previous inquiries were routed and handled untilresolution. The artificial intelligence model may also be trained torespond with a resolved confirmation or to mark as resolved without areply. The artificial intelligence model may be configured toautomatically assign inquiries and automatically move messages from aninbox to an Auto Assign box as appropriate.

Referring now to FIG. 14 , depicted is a screenshot of an interface 1400of an application including a message list and a message panel with aside panel including notes. In the interface 1400, a note-taking feature1404 is displayed in conjunction with other user interface elements. Inthis configuration, the note-taking feature 1404 is displayed forviewing in the user's message center 1400. The note-taking feature 1404is available for the user to include notes in conjunction with aselected message 1402. Any notes created by a user in conjunction with aselected message 1402 are attached to the selected message 1402 forinternal users to view. Notes added through the note-taking feature 1404may be accessible by internal users of the mail management server 105.In this way, internal users may communicate with each other about aselected message without creating additional messages within the user'smessage center 1400 or exposing their comments to external parties.

Referring now to FIG. 15 , depicted is a screenshot an interface 1500 ofan application including a message list and a message panel with anelectronic mail thread converted to a chat conversation thread. In thisconfiguration, a user may integrate various chat platforms 1504 with themail management server 105. With this integration, a user may monitorvarious chat messaging platforms in the same location as the user'selectronic mail. The user may filter the electronic mailbox 1502 to showonly chat messages by selecting a chat visual element 1506. In otherembodiments, the electronic mailbox 1502 may show electronic mail andchat messages in a single inbox. Using the chat integration 1508, theuser may replay to chat messages from a separate chat platform whilefrom inside the message center 1500. This allows the user to monitor andreply to electronic messages from any platform in a single location,thus increasing efficiency and productivity for the user.

Referring now to FIG. 16A, depicted is a screenshot of a selectedelectronic mail thread 1600A with multiple messages. The thread 1600Amay be between a first participant 1602 and a second participant 1604.In this configuration, the email thread 1600 may contain variousconversationally extraneous elements (i.e., auxiliary content)1606A-1610A in addition to the conversationally relevant elements (maincontent) 1612A-1616A. With this example, the main content 1612A-1616Amay be between within the auxiliary content 1606A-1610A.

Referring now to FIG. 16B, depicted is a screenshot of a chatconversation thread 1600B converted from the electronic mail thread. Thechat conversation thread 1600B between a first participant 1602B and asecond participant 1604B. In the chat conversation thread 1600B, theauxiliary content 1606A-1610A of an email may have been removed fromview so as to display the email chain as a chat message. In thisconfiguration, the user is able to clearly view the main content1612B-1616B of the email chain without the extraneous distractions. Inthis way, the user's productivity may be increased by easing the strainof parsing through auxiliary content, or conversational “refuse.” Inaddition, in some configurations the chat conversation thread 1600Bdisplays the messages as a chat with the most recent message 1620B atthe bottom of the thread, as displayed. In the chat conversation thread1600B, the user may still be using electronic mail (as opposed to a chatplatform). The user may reply to the client with email by inputting textin the text string input 1622B and selecting the “Send” graphical input1624B. While the text string input 1622B and “Send” graphical input1624B appear as a chat platform, the user replies through electronicmail.

Referring now to FIG. 17 , depicted is a screenshot of a dialogue box1700 for suggested automated responses. In response to a client inquiry,an automated reply may be generated for the user to include inresponding to the client. An artificial intelligence (AI) model can betrained to produce automated responses to a variety of client inquiries.In the example, an automated response message 1702 may be generated inresponse to a client's trade-status inquiry. The automated responsemessage 1702 may be comprised of an introduction 1704, colloquialpleasantries 1706, and the inquiry response 1708. The inquiry response1708 may include answers several distinct inquiries within a singlereply message. The dialogue box 1700 may also include responseattachments 1712 that the user may elect to attach to the automatedresponse message 1702. By selectin, a visual selection element 1710, theuser may attach relevant data or attachments to the automated responsemessage 1702. Referring now to FIG. 18 , depicted is screenshot of anautomated reply included in a response electronic mail message 1800. Theresponse message 1800 may include the automated response message 1702may be generated in response to a client's trade-status inquiry.

The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams areprovided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to requireor imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed inthe order presented. The steps in the foregoing embodiments may beperformed in any order. Words such as “then,” “next,” etc. are notintended to limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used toguide the reader through the description of the methods. Althoughprocess flow diagrams may describe the operations as a sequentialprocess, many of the operations can be performed in parallel orconcurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may bere-arranged. A process may correspond to a method, a function, aprocedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, and the like. When a processcorresponds to a function, the process termination may correspond to areturn of the function to a calling function or a main function.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability ofhardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms oftheir functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented ashardware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Embodiments implemented in computer software may be implemented insoftware, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguages, or any combination thereof. A code segment ormachine-executable instructions may represent a procedure, a function, asubprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a softwarepackage, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures,or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another codesegment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information,data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via anysuitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing,network transmission, etc.

The actual software code or specialized control hardware used toimplement these systems and methods is not limiting. Thus, the operationand behavior of the systems and methods were described without referenceto the specific software code being understood that software and controlhardware can be designed to implement the systems and methods based onthe description herein.

When implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or moreinstructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable orprocessor-readable storage medium. The steps of a method or algorithmdisclosed herein may be embodied in a processor-executable softwaremodule, which may reside on a computer-readable or processor-readablestorage medium. A non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readablemedia includes both computer storage media and tangible storage mediathat facilitate transfer of a computer program from one place toanother. A non-transitory processor-readable storage media may be anyavailable media that may be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such non-transitory processor-readable media maycomprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othertangible storage medium that may be used to store desired program codein the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessedby a computer or processor. Disk and disc, as used herein, includecompact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc(DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method oralgorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/orinstructions on a non-transitory processor-readable medium and/orcomputer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computerprogram product.

The preceding description of the disclosed embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentdisclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and theprinciples and novel features disclosed herein.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed, other aspectsand embodiments are contemplated. The various aspects and embodimentsdisclosed are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to belimiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for handling electronic mail messages innetworked environments, comprising: a client device having one or moreprocessors coupled with memory in communication with a server, anapplication executable on the client device, the application having auser interface for handling electronic mail messages, the applicationconfigured to: identify, via the user interface, one or more propertiesindicating a request type of electronic mail messages to define adistribution list to which to assign a user of the client device;transmit, to the server, the one or more properties to assign the userof the client device to the distribution list, with which at least oneof a plurality of electronic mail messages to is selected for sending tothe client device; receive, from the server, an identification of afirst subset of electronic mail messages selected from the plurality ofelectronic mail messages based on an assignment of the user of theclient device to the distribution list and the request type determinedfrom content in the first subset of electronic mail messages; present,in the user interface, a message list of the first subset of electronicmail messages; receive, via the user interface, a request to present anelectronic mail thread corresponding to a second subset of electronicmail messages, as a chat conversation thread, identify, from each of thesecond subset of electronic mail messages, main content and auxiliarycontent, responsive to the request to present; generate the chatconversation thread including the main content identified from each ofthe second subset of electronic mail messages, while excluding theauxiliary content; and present, in a message panel of the userinterface, at least a portion of the chat conversation thread.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the application is further configured to:receive, via the user interface, a request to add a second chatconversation thread from a second application as one of the first subsetof electronic mail messages in the message list; generate a secondelectronic mail thread to include a third subset of electronic mailmessages corresponding to a plurality of conversations of the secondchat conversation thread; present, via the message list, anidentification of the electronic mail thread among a plurality ofthreads.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the application is furtherconfigured to: identify, from the first subset of electronic mailmessages, an electronic mail message for which no response is sentwithin a defined time window after receipt; and provide, via the userinterface, an indicator identifying the electronic mail message ashaving no response within the defined time window.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the application is further configured to: receive, viathe user interface, a request to change assignment of an electronic mailmessage of the first subset of electronic mail messages to another user;transmit, to the server, an indication that the electronic mail messageis to be assigned to a second distribution list, responsive to therequest to change the assignment of the electronic mail message; andremove the electronic mail message among the first subset of electronicmail messages from presentation in the message list.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the application is further configured to: receive, viathe user interface, a request to cancel a first calendar eventcorresponding to one of the first subset of electronic mail messages;identify, responsive to the request to cancel, a second calendar eventfor a time slot at least partially concurrent with the first calendarevent; and present, via the user interface, an identification of thesecond calendar event.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the applicationis further configured to provide, for at least one message of the firstsubset of electronic mail messages, a response based on at least aportion of the at least one message.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe application is further configured to present, in a dashboard of theuser interface, a statistic indicator associated with provision of theplurality of electronic mail messages to the client device in accordancewith the distribution list.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein theapplication is further configured to provide, via an attachment windowat least partially concurrently with the message list of the userinterface, a plurality of attachments available to be added to at leastone of the first subset of electronic mail messages.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the client device comprises a mobile communicationdevice in communication with the server on a cloud computing network,wherein the user interface has a size corresponding to a display of themobile communication device.
 10. A system for managing electronic mailmessages in networked environments, comprising: at least one serverhaving one or more processors coupled with memory in communication witha plurality of client devices, the at least one server configured to:receive one or more properties indicating a request type of electronicmail messages to define a distribution list to which to assign a userassociated with a client device of the plurality of client devices;identify, from a plurality of distribution lists, the distribution listto which to assign the user based on the one or more properties; select,from a plurality of electronic mail messages to be sent to the clientdevice, a first subset of electronic mail messages based on assignmentof the user to the distribution list and the request type determinedfrom content in the first subset of electronic mail messages; transmit,to the client device, an identification of the first subset ofelectronic mail messages for presentation in a message list of a userinterface; receive, from the client device, a request to present anelectronic mail thread corresponding to a second subset of electronicmail messages, as a chat conversation thread, identify, from each of thesecond subset of electronic mail messages, main content and auxiliarycontent, responsive to the request to present; generate the chatconversation thread including the main content identified from each ofthe second subset of electronic mail messages, while excluding theauxiliary content; and send, to the client device, the chat conversationthread for presentation in a message panel of the user interface. 11.The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one server is furtherconfigured to receive, from the client device, a request to add a secondchat conversation thread from a second application as one of the firstsubset of electronic mail messages in the message list; generate asecond electronic mail thread to include a third subset of electronicmail messages corresponding to a plurality of conversations of the chatconversation thread; and send, to the client device, an identificationof the electronic mail thread among a plurality of threads forpresentation in the message list.
 12. The system of claim 10, whereinthe at least one server is further configured to identify, from thefirst subset of electronic mail messages, an electronic mail message forno response is sent within a defined time window after receipt; andsend, to the client device, an indicator identifying the electronic mailmessage as having no response within the defined time window via theuser interface.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least oneserver is further configured to: receive, from the client device, arequest to change assignment of an electronic mail message of the firstsubset of electronic mail messages to another user; identify, from aplurality of users, a second user to which to assign the electronic mailmessage based on the request to change; and send, to a second clientdevice associated with the second user, an identification of theelectronic mail message.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the atleast one server is further configured to receive, from the clientdevice, a request to cancel a first calendar event corresponding to oneof the first subset of electronic mail messages; identify, responsive tothe request to cancel, a second calendar event for a time slot at leastpartially concurrent with the first calendar event for the user; andsend, to the client device, an identification of the second calendarevent for the user.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least oneserver is further configured to select, from the plurality ofdistribution lists, the distribution list for the user based on the oneor more properties received from the client device.
 16. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the at least one server is further configured togenerate, for at least one message of the first subset of electronicmail messages, a response based on at least a portion of the at leastone message.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one servercomprises at least one of a mail exchange server or a dedicated serverfor interfacing with an application for handling messages executing onthe client device.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least oneserver is distributed in a cloud computing network in communication withthe plurality of client devices.